The New York Times is providing fantastic coverage of the still-lingering volcanic ash cloud that has been severely disrupting — and in most places completely halting — air traffic in Europe since the Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupted in Iceland on Wednesday.
Here is the Times‘ graphic showing just how widespread the airport closures have been.
Over on their The Lede blog they also have video of the ongoing Eyjafjallajökull eruption, showing exactly how all that ash got into the atmosphere. Truly amazing. But truly troubling as well — and with no timetable for when flights may be able to resume.
Volcanologists had no reliable prediction of how long the eruption would continue, as travelers scrambled for train reservations, rental cars and hotel rooms. Others simply searched for comfortable benches in airports, which were considerably calmer and emptier than on Friday as passengers realized that no flights would be going in or out.
Europe’s three largest airports — London Heathrow, Frankfurt and Paris-Charles de Gaulle — were all shut on Saturday, with officials hoping that flights could resume sometime Sunday or, more likely, Monday.
Yikes.